Popular Articles

Genetic Defects Linked With Rare Bearded Lady
New research provides exciting genetic insight into a rare syndrome that first appeared in the medical literature in the mid 1800s with the case of Julia Pastrana, the world"s most notorious bearded lady. The study, published by Cell Press in the May 21st issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics, reveals intriguing molecular clues about the pathogenesis of this mysterious condition that has captured the attention of the public since the Middle Ages.
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Anemia Associated With Greater Risk Of Death In Heart Disease Patients
A new study appearing in Congestive Heart Failure has found that the presence of anemia in patients with chronic heart failure is associated with a significantly increased risk of death. The findings also show that anemia is associated with a poorer degree of left ventricular function and a lower left ventricular ejection fraction, an objective measure of cardiac function.
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News of the day
A Long To-Do List For FDA Chief Hamburg
The Washington Post details Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Margaret Hamburg"s to-do list, noting that during her brief tenure the agency has announced nearly-daily warnings about various consumer products and created an internal task force to recommend ways to release more information about FDA decisions and policies. Hamburg"s list "goes beyond reorienting and restoring public confidence in the FDA. Last week, Congress passed historic legislation that gives significant new authority and responsibility to the FDA to regulate tobacco for the first time. That means Hamburg must create a new center within her agency to handle oversight of the manufacturing, marketing and sale of cigarettes, cigars and other tobacco products. And today a House committee takes up legislation that would give FDA broad new powers to regulate food safety -- a bill that House leaders are determined to pass this year. The bill would place greater responsibility on the food industry to prevent food-borne illnesses and would require the FDA to significantly expand its inspection and oversight of the industry" (Layton, 6/17).
Diagnostics

Race Plays Role In Diagnosis And Treatment

CNN reports that African Americans and whites are treated differently by doctors. "While it"s extremely difficult to tell in any given situation how much race -- consciously or unconsciously -- plays a role in a doctor"s decision making, multiple studies over several decades have found doctors make different decisions for black patients and white patients even when they have the same medical problems and the same insurance." For example, "In a study conducted in 2007, Harvard researchers showed doctors a vignette about a 50-year-old man with chest pain who arrived at the emergency room, where an EKG showed he"d had a heart attack. Sometimes the researchers paired the medical history with a photo of black man and other times with a photo of a white man. The doctors were significantly more likely to recommend lifesaving drugs when they thought the patient was white than when they thought the patient was black" (Cohen, 7/23). In other news, "recently released statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that minority groups experience obesity at even greater levels than their white counterparts," The Milwaukee Health Examiner/Examiner reports. "According to the July 17 issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, blacks have a 51 percent greater prevalence of obesity than whites. Hispanics also experience a greater percentage of obesity than whites with a 21 percent higher prevalence, according to the CDC publication." One possible explanation is that "in many cases these populations do not have adequate access to health information and services. Minority populations with high levels of obesity tend to live in areas where there is limited access to recreational activities, few options for healthy foods and lower levels of health education." In addition, "geography appears to have a significant impact on minority obesity rates" for blacks, whites and Hispanics (Koshuta, 7/23). This information was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at kaiserhealthnews.org. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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